Scraps of Time
by MiekoYagyu
Summary: A collection of one-shots about the RuroKen characters we all know and cherish. Be afraid... very afraid...
1. Himura Kenshin: Rurouni

**Scraps of Time**

**Disclaimer: **Save up, save up… *Mutters furiously* I will own Rurouni Kenshin, even if it is the last thing I do! Just you watch! One day, you all will have to rewrite your silly disclaimers, making me the owner of the series instead of Watsuki. *Looks at meager funds* …that might take a while…

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_I really hate Tokyo, I really do. _Himura Kenshin gave a gloomy look at the fog surrounding him. It was heavy, and it was the kind that was opaque. It would be difficult to see enemies coming. Kenshin, with his superior ki sensing ability, found this only irksome, but he was reluctant to rely on it solely. The Forest of Barriers still gave him nightmares to this day. Maybe all his days.

_Enough with depressing history! Just focus on getting out of here. _There were only a few more miles until the city of Tokyo ended and the countryside began. The town was quiet, almost too quiet. It betrayed the activity outside of the capital, with the farmers rioting and the government giving out empty promises left and right.

_To think that the proud Ishin Shishi has become the very thing we despised. I pity the Shinsengumi at times. _Deep, introspective thoughts came to him more often now, as rurouni. When he was Battousai, things were simpler.

_Receive target. Find it, track it. Kill it. Erase it from existence. Kill the witness. No one may see me kill and live. _

Kenshin shuddered. It was all too easy to ease back into that mindset when he was fighting. It was too easy to flip the blade over, and make sure that enemy wouldn't hurt anyone ever again. The thrill of swordsmanship… it continued to excite and disgust him at the same time.

_I thought I was done with depressing. _He fingered the rough hilt of his sakâbatô. He had long, slim fingers. They could've been the fingers of a farmer. Or perhaps an apothecary. But the Powers-That-Be decided Kenshin made the very best play toy, dropped a sword in his hands, and patted his fuzzy red head in bemusement at his protests.

Kenshin was almost too busy contemplating his lot in life to notice the bright flare of ki behind him. It was pure light-blue, flashing righteous anger and anxiety. 

"Hitokiri Battousai!"

_What the-? What is it now? _

Kenshin turned, blinking innocent violet eyes. _Gets them every single time._

And then: _Why is she coming at an assassin with a _wooden _sword? Is my reputation _that_ low?_

In the eleventh year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo, this story begins…

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**Author's Note (Because this is everybody's favorite part of fanfiction *sarcasm*):**

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN MANGA CHAPTERS 165 ONWARDS, OR TRUST AND BETRAYAL!! SPOILERS COMING UP!!Yeah, I wanted to do this. Really bad. I noticed that Tokyo is a focus point in Kenshin's life. Think about it. Tomoe was from Edo (renamed Tokyo) and we all know what happened to her. Kaoru came from Tokyo as well (duh). So things kind of came into a circle for Kenshin. Worst moment in Kenshin's life, meet best thing to ever happen to him. I'm not saying Tomoe is bad, necessarily, but you got to admit, she left him a whole lot worse than when she found him. Now on top of being a killer of men, he has to deal with the grief of killing his own wife. She woke him up to the horrors of killing, and set him on the path of rurouni, but she still messed him up. But I digress. If you want my true feelings on Himura/Yukishiro Tomoe, go read _Tears _by me. (Shameless plug…) And, Tomoe fans (you know who you are) please don't kill me for my rant. I love her too! I just like Kaoru more. What can I say? I like it when the girls are hotheaded, because I can relate to them. (I punch my boyfriend as well…) Ah, I better cut this off. Your eyes are most likely bleeding from too much boring Author Rant. See you later.


	2. Kamiya Kaoru: Shihondai

**Scraps of Time**

**Disclaimer: **I'm back, baby! And I'm here to further ruin this series we all know and love! And one I don't own! …… I think I'm going to cry now.

***** **

Kamiya Kaoru watched as the kind red-haired rurouni turned away. He had looked so _sad_, she realized. There was a gut-wrenching sorrow to that empty smile, as if… as if he felt he had nothing to smile for…

_Don't go! Please don't leave me alone again! I don't think I can take it anymore…_

"Excuse me. Farewell…" came that soft voice, so utterly different than the rough, deep tone Gohei had. He was leaving. He was simply going to disappear into the night, and Kaoru would never see him again. Why did that bother her so much?! He was Hitokiri Battousai! Killer of Thousands! The Demon of Kyoto!

_He doesn't act like it though…_

Kaoru mentally groaned. She should despise him! He followed satsujin-ken when he was younger, and yet she, assistant master to the 'swords that give life', had fallen (dare she say it?) in love with him. This man… this man had captured her heart, and she barely knew him. That clumsy fool had leapt away from her blow, and crashed down into a wooden fence and into her mind. He had made her feel safe when he dashed her away from a leering Gohei, then promptly made her furious when her savior turned out to be a feminine man who had no business rubbing his nose in Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu affairs.

He had ended up beneath policemen, and had given out cryptic answers when she asked perfectly normal questions. Then he appears out of nowhere, and saves her when she needed him most, sword flashing, yet keeping to her ideal. How her heart broke and how it quickly it had healed when he talked about katsujin-ken!

Her heart would shatter if he left, and she didn't even know _why_.

"W…"

He took a step towards the door. Her heart developed a crack.

"W…"

_Hurry! He'll leave without you even saying a word! _

"Wait a second!" she cried angrily, fist clenched and waving about.

He stopped and 'oro'-ed.

Kaoru had heard nothing better in her life.

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**Author's Note: **Even shorter than the last one. But I like it as well. Nobody has really taken the time to wonder what the crap Kaoru was thinking when her love interest-to-be was walking away for the first time. So I decided to take up the burden. And failed spectacularly! Kaoru is fun to write! Yay for me! I love Kamiya Kaoru's character. I hope I can be just like her when I grow up… and find the love of my life by attacking him. Preferably with a wooden sword. (-^_^-)


	3. Myoujin Yahiko: Tokyo Samurai

**Scraps of Time**

**Disclaimer: **Heh heh, I am here to further destroy Kenshin! Beware my mighty keyboard! If I owned Rurouni Kenshin, and had my way with it, nobody would watch it. Most likely.

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_Wow… I didn't even see his sword _move_! _Myoujin Yahiko watched the redheaded swordsman (_wasn't his name Kenshin or something?_) send Gasuke into the ceiling. _That was totally awesome!_

"Excuse me, but I wasn't done talking." Kenshin glared up at the yakuza hitokiri.

_So cool!_

"What do you say? Show your generosity and release the young one," said Kenshin easily, almost as if he was talking about the weather. A simple smile graced his features.

_Oi! Not cool! I told him that I am not a 'young one'; I'm a samurai's son! _Yahiko still felt a sense of unholy glee when Tanishi looked like he was about to soil his hakama.

Kenshin stopped smiling. His demeanor changed completely, and Kenshin's violet eyes turned blue with anger. "It may embarrass you less than the total annihilation of you gang…"

_Somehow, I don't think he's bluffing…_

Tanishi grew pale underneath all his fat. "F-fine. Go ahead and take him."

_I'm free? Tanishi, famous for being like a starving dog with a bone when it comes to his 'employees', is letting me go? _

"Thank you. Please forgive the intrusion." The kind aura was back.

_A swordsman with manners… Weird…_

"Are you all right, young one?"

_Arrgh! I am NOT a young one!!! For the last time, already!_

"You were hard to pinpoint, but after visiting one yakuza group after another…"

_He did this more than once? _But Yahiko was still angry. _First, he calls me 'young one', and then he busts me out of Tanishi's gang! Is he doing this out of pity? Nobody pities me!_

Yahiko slapped the outreached hand. "Who told you to help me? I could have fought them alone! I could have fought!" He could have! He could! But this swordsman had to butt in! There was so much kindness in those eyes. It reminded Yahiko of his mother. _Who are you? Why do you make me feel safe? _

"Of course. This one has underestimated you once again."

_Why do you care?_

"Then, as an apology, at least allow your wounds to be treated." Kenshin picked up Yahiko, and carried him away. Yahiko wasn't exactly a sumo wrestler, with living on the streets and all, but he still weighed quite a bit. And this small, slight man picked him up like he weighed absolutely nothing.

_Why, why do you feel like family? Like the father I never really knew? Like the mother that died for me? Why? Why do you bother to help me…?_

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**Author's Note: **Yeah, I'm back. I typed this while listening to _Heart of Sword_, the Rurouni Kenshin ending for the 3rd season. Or something like that. I like it because it rocks. (Psst! Kenshin writes his name with the characters of 'Sword' and 'Heart'. His name literally means 'Sword Heart' or 'Heart of the Sword'. Really obvious, Watsuki.)

When I first saw that Kenshin cleared out one yakuza group after another, I'm like: 'That's gotta take some determination.' He doesn't even really know the guy! That's Kenshin for ya. Beats up thugs, and still manages not to come off as a bully for Ryu Tsui Sen.-ing them to next Thursday. Cool guy. Almost makes me wish I could keep him, if it wouldn't cause Kaoru to kill me.

Kaoru: Back off, he's mine!

Kenshin: Oro.


	4. Sagara Sanosuke: Fight Merchant

**Scraps of Time**

**Disclaimer: **It is now Sano's turn to be tortured- I mean, developed! Yeah, that's what I meant. I do not own Sanosuke, nor do I own Rurouni Kenshin. *There is much rejoicing from the readers* …… You are all so mean…

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_Well, that was a complete waste of my time. _Sagara Sanosuke looked at the crumpled man dispassionately. That had been _such_ a boring fight. He didn't even get any new information as well.

Sano glanced around. Kyoto was quiet. It was like it still remembered the blood that coursed down its narrow alleys only 10 years ago. Sano's grip on his zanbatou tightened. Battousai had stalked these streets.

_To think, that I will finally be able to avenge the Sekihou-tai after all these years by crushing the strongest Patriot. It makes me shiver in anticipation. _Then Sano's stomach decided to let Sano know that it was empty.Sano decided to eat some dinner- and not pay, of course.

"Hmm. This looks good." The Kohagi-ya. It was a rather simple place. And it looked seedy. _Perfect._

He walked in, and the pretty barmaid sat him down. "Would you like a room as well?" she asked, black bangs hiding her eyes.

"Nah. Just get me some tempura. And sake. A lot of sake," Sano smirked. The barmaid blushed deeply, and scurried off.

There were a few older men here. One looked like he was in his 40s, with a younger female companion, who looked unhappy to be there.

"Please. I really must be going back to serve customers…" She gave a withering look at the man. The man paid no attention.

"But I have a few more stories ta tell ya, Midori-chan!" he slurred. Sano snorted. The man was obviously smashed.

"Ginji, I have to work…" She shook her hand, trying to make him get off.

Sano looked up. Ginji? It couldn't be that _Ginji _was here of all places… His old pal Ginji, the only guy that could go against Sano in a drinking contest and tie. _It is Ginji! What's he doing here?_

"But I want to tell you about Battousai!" Sano's ears pricked. Maybe some information would come.

"Battousai? Please, Ginji! I'm too old for fairy tales!" Midori still didn't leave, however.

"Oh, shut up. Now, Battousai. I saw him while I was in the Kihei-tai. He was very small. His name was Kenshin. Himura Kenshin. He had a mop of red hair, and looked like he was 10. He insisted that he was 13."

"So you're saying that Battousai was 13? There's no way. Everybody says he was 10 feet tall! You're such a liar." She started to walk off. Ginji's face grew red. Before he could explode, Sano slid into the booth.

"Sano? That you?" Ginji asked.

"Hey Ginji. Getting drunk, I see." Sano chuckled at his friend's expense.

"Got any sake? I'm all out." To illustrate his statement, he tipped over his sake bottle, and nothing came out.

"I got nothing yet."

"Aw."

"You never told me you were a war veteran, you old dog." Sano peered at his old friend, who was looking at the empty sake cup morosely.

"Eh, after the Sekihou-tai thing, I realized that you can't trust anybody, 'cept yourself, family, and old friends."

"Sekihou-tai…" A man in a red bandana and uniform flashed through Sano's mind. _Captain Sagara, how I miss you…_

"Now what're you doing in Kyoto? Last time I heard, you were in Tokyo beating the snot out of people." Ginji shook the sake cup again, hoping for a few last drops.

"I'm looking up Battousai." Sano leaned back, smirking. His friend grew pale.

"B-Battousai? Sano! Don't you go poking your nose in that kind of business. People have killed when pressed about the demon!" Ginji's hands shook.

"I thought you said he was 13, Ginji." Sano leaned forward, hand propping up his head.

"A thirteen-year-old that sliced through a training pole with one stroke!" Ginji exclaimed.

"What? But those things are 3 feet thick!"

"Exactly. And then he rammed his sheath into the reed mat, and destroyed it and the wood! That boy made me scared, back when I wasn't scared of anything. A demon. That's what that boy was." Ginji clenched his sake cup.

"Do you know what style he used?" Sano hoped Ginji would say yes.

"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu, or something like that. And to think, he used that on men…" Ginji shivered.

Sano added up the figures (something he wasn't very good at) and realized something. "Hey, wait a minute! That would make him… ah, 28 now? I know he worked for 5 years, because the Captain told me so. Captain talked about Battousai a lot, saying it wasn't right to use… boys…" It all made sense now. Why Captain Sagara would talk about Katsura bitterly at times, when he was drunk. It had always made Sano curious.

"Yup. Ages 13 to 18. First half as hitokiri, then as a free-lance swordsman and bodyguard to Katsura. That's why he was known, and didn't disappear into the woodwork like the rest of us." Ginji fingered the wooden table. "In fact, this was the headquarters."

"Really, now…" Sano looked around again, this time with enlightened eyes. "Interesting…"

_Wait… Wait just a second-!_

"How do you know so much?" Sano asked, jerking up out of his seat.

Ginji looked surprised, yet sad. "Hiroshi used to work with the guy. Said he was the quiet type." Sano sat down slowly. Hiroshi had died 6 years ago. A drunken Patriot had shot the guy. Ginji was the one that had to tell the family that the man wasn't ever coming back. The wife had been pregnant, too. Hiroshi was one of the men that took in Sano after the Shimosuwa incident.

"Oh…" Sano rested his head on the table. His fists ached from the previous fight. _Skin's dry. It'll bleed if I don't get some balm later._

_Red hair. Cross-shaped scar. Little. Age 13 to 18. That would make him 28… Why does that seem so familiar…? _

A gently smiling man, who had blocked an incoming sake bottle with the back of his head. A sword at his waist, and something about him that said a fight with him would be a fight to remember. And who had a cross-shaped scar and long, bright red hair.

_No. Way. That man was Hitokiri Battousai! Why didn't I realize that?! _

Sano stood suddenly. Ginji looked up at him in an alcohol-induced haze. "Where are you going?"

"I've just remembered something." Sano grabbed his zanbatou and ran out the Kohagi-ya. The barmaid shouted after him, something about tempura, unpaid bills, and lousy good-for-nothings.

Sano didn't care. The fight of the century was in Tokyo, and it had his name written all over it in blood red ink.

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**Author's Note: **Wow, this was long. But it was Sano, who is adorable and awesome. Not as awesome as Kenshin, but awesome nonetheless! I decided to set this fanfiction in Kyoto while he was gathering information on Kenshin, because there are not a lot of those. Go me! While I continue to write drabbles (or vignettes or whatever you guys call them), I am neglecting my homework, which is threatening to swallow me and eat me whole. Aaaaaaiiiiieeeeeee! And as for this entire series of fanfiction…. headdesk. I have no excuse for this. I hope you like it. Gah.

Eternally tormented and yours, MiekoYagyu.


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